exploring...

I know that you are all preparing to end your school year-- you are so lucky!! However, I wanted to give you a few more tidbits of information about Baku before you embark on your summer journeys.

I recently went to the Mud Volcanoes in Azerbaijan. They are located outside of Baku, near the town of Gobustan. I recently read that there are a little over 700 volcanoes of this type in the world, and 300 of them are located in Azerbaijan. That is an amazing fact!

The volcanoes were so intriguing. They continuously bubble and make interesting noises-- and the mud is COLD. We were playing in them -- which probably wasn't the most sanitary thing to do because the eruptions (constant bubbling) are caused from gases making their way to the surface.




The volcanoes we climbed and "played" in were relatively small and seemed harmless. However, there are stories of people driving to close to the site and the car(s) slowly sinking into the depths. I am sure that there are a lot of old cars somewhere in the depths of the muddy/oily terrain.



It was quite impressive and mysterious-- these volcanoes are natural wonders. As I read a bit about them I found that in 2001 there was a massive eruption of the volcanoes. You should check out the following link and read up on it..... BBC News Report

The mud volcanoes would make a great field trip-- and I would love to have each of you experience them for real-- but traveling to their site is quite tricky and the roads are extremely rough-- buses wouldn't make it. They can be reached by foot as well-- but there isn't a set path. We were lucky we stumbled upon them after an hour and a half of traveling on the "rocky" mountains trails.



We also visited Gobustan again. The place where the petroglyphs can be found. It is truly a great part of history (one that I don't fully comprehend)-- the people who lived centuries ago really knew how to create, tell, and preserve their life stories. It makes me wonder what sort of things people in centuries to come will think about the reminentance of what we have left behind. What stories will our "stuff" tell them??



The cave drawings are said to have been discovered in the 1930's by quarry workers (prisoners from the nearby prison). The workers would climb a ladder to gain to access the quarry and work. We climbed the shaky ladder (even though the sign painted on the rock warned us not to climb it because it was dangerous) to the top and found the deserted quarry.





I hope to be in touch a few more times before summer comes-- so keep checking for updates.